John Steele has finished harvest at AK & JF Farms, Hamerton, Cambridgeshire, and has almost finished drilling oilseed rape.

“We finished the wheat on 11 August, before the rain, and then finished up tic beans, maple peas and linseed last week.”

Wheat yields were about 1t/ha (0.4t/acre) down on last year. “When you take the higher costs into account, despite the better prices, we won’t be any better off than last year.”

Quality of the Solstice, Gallant, Marksman, Battalion, Duxford and Grafton was good, and yields averaged 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre) at 15-17% moisture.

“The only big difference was the Warrior, which yielded 1t/ha (0.4t/acre) more than Scout – I certainly wouldn’t grow Scout again; it just doesn’t tiller.”

Linseed, grown for the first time, came in at 2.1t/ha (0.8t/acre), and oilseed rape averaged 2.4t/ha (0.9t/acre) – 1.2t/ha (0.5t/acre) below last year.

“The Cabernet did well, as did Vision and Alienor – I like Alienor as it’s an early variety and we have 283ha (700 acres) of rape going in.”

Most people in the area had finished combining wheat, leaving just a few beans and linseed fields to do, said Mr Steele.

“But there’s still a lot to do further West and North of us.”

Crop: Winter wheat
Varieties: Solstice, Gallant, Marksman, Battalion, Duxford and Grafton
Yield: 8.6t/ha (3.5t/acre)

Crop: Oilseed rape
Varieties: Cabernet, Vision, Alienor and Osprey
Yield: 2.4t/ha (0.9t/acre)